Danny Romero is the author of the novel Calle 10 and two books of poetry Traces and the newly released Mi Vida Oakland (and other poems) from Cholla Needles. He has published many poems and short stories in anthologies and journals throughout the country.
There's a murder of crows on the fence
outside my mother's house
waiting for me when I get there
a sight never seen before by neighbors
They follow me across the city
miles away to a church
I had not attended
since I was a boy
now the last day
mother brother
grandfather all in a pew
The crows outside calling me
The things they say
I can never repeat
Nancy Gonzalez St. Clair is the inaugural poet laureate of Lodi (2023-2024). Her poetry has appeared in Huizache: The Magazine of Latino Literature, La Tolteca, Mujeres De Maiz Zine, Hinchas de PoesÃa, Fifth Wednesday Journal, and several other literary journals. Her work is featured in the Poetry of Resistance: Voices for Social Justice, Sacramento Voices: Foam at the Mouth Anthology, Lowriting: Shots, Rides, and Stories from the Chicano Soul, and Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century. Nancy served on the Sacramento Poetry Center Board for several years. She has been a part of the writing group “Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol” since 2011. She hosts a monthly poetry series called “Mosaic of Voices” at the Lodi Library. Nancy has been a public educator for 23 years.